Singapore to review information connected to Panama Papers and conduct ‘necessary checks’

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are reviewing the information being reported in connection with the “so-called Panama Papers”, and conducting the “necessary checks”.

According to an email reply to Yahoo Singapore on Tuesday night (6 April), “If there is evidence of wrong-doing by any individual or entity in Singapore, we will not hesitate to take firm action,” said the agencies’ spokesperson.

On Sunday (3 April), the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealed a cache of 11.5 million records leaked from a Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, which exposed the offshore holdings of more than 214,000 offshore companies from people in more than 200 countries.

These include accounts belonging to 12 current and former world leaders, including associates of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who secretly kept as much as US$2 billion through banks and shell companies.

“Singapore takes a serious view on tax evasion and will not tolerate its business and financial centre being used to facilitate tax related crimes. We have put in place a strong legal, tax, and regulatory framework, coupled with a rigorous supervisory regime, to tackle cross-border tax evasion and avoidance,” said the statement.

“Singapore is also firmly committed to upholding internationally accepted standards for exchange of information (EOI). The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (GF), has assessed that Singapore’s EOI regime is ‘largely compliant’ with the international standard, similar to GF’s assessment for jurisdictions such as US and the UK,” the spokesperson added.

Significant findings from the Panama Papers showed that Mossack Fonseca worked with thousands of intermediaries in countries such as Hong Kong and Switzerland. In Singapore, the documents claim the law firm worked with 4,050 "active intermediaries".

The MOF and MAS joint statement continued, “Most of the services the offshore industry provides are legal if used by the law abiding. But the documents show that banks, law firms and other offshore players have often failed to follow legal requirements that they make sure their clients are not involved in criminal enterprises, tax dodging or political corruption.”

Big names involved

Iceland’s former prime minister Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson - who resigned over the Panama Papers just Tuesday - the king of Saudi Arabia and the children of the president of Azerbajian were named in the leak.

Bollywood celebrities such as Amitabh Bhachan and his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai, were also named in the leaked documents, which too provided details of secret financial dealings of 129 politicians and public officials around the world. The documents also named FIFA officials and football star Lionel Messi. The high-profile Barcelona star is due to stand trial together with his father in May for tax fraud.

ICIJ plans to reveal the full list of names linked to the Panama Papers in May.

The leaked data, which covered nearly 40 years, was a result of an investigation involving ICIJ, German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other news organisations, including BBC and the Guardian. The records were also reviewed by a team of more than 370 journalists across 76 countries.

According to ICIJ, the records included at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by the US government for their involvement with Mexican drug lords and terrorist organisations.